A code which identifies an ORGANISATION uniquely.

For NHS organisations it is a code that is maintained by the National Administrative Codes Service (NACS), to identify most organisations that exchange information within the NHS or return information to the Centre. Examples of organisations that can be identified this way are Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities. 

See Administrative Codes & Classifications.

For the NACS contact details, see Contact Details.

 

This attribute is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	ORGANISATION CODES

This provides a unique identifier of each site for an ORGANISATION.

Note: Only ORGANISATION SITE CODES which have been notified to and issued by the National Administrative Codes Service (NACS) may be used.

See Administrative Codes & Classifications.

For the NACS contact details, see Publication Information Contact Details. For the NACS contact details, see Contact Details.

 

This attribute is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	ORGANISATION SITE CODES

Format/length:	an8
HES item:	REGGMP
National Codes:
Default Codes:	G9999998 - GP code is unknown
	G9999981 - No registered GP
	R9999981 - Referrer other than GMP, GDP or Consultant
	Other GP Codes
	A9999998 - MOD doctor refers
	P9999981 - Prison doctor

Notes:
This is the code of the GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONER (GMP) with whom the PATIENT is registered.

A doctor receives a GMC number on qualification. If he/she then chooses to enter general practice, a further number is allocated - the Doctors Index Number - by the Department of Health (STATS(W)). This number is passed to the PRIMARY CARE TRUST (PCT) requesting the number who then liaise with the Prescription Pricing Authority (PPA) on the issue of prescription pads etc. The PPA use the number to derive the GMP code by prefixing it with the character 'G' and adding a check digit at the end. The GMP code linked to his/her main practice is included on the National Administrative Codes Service (NACS), quarterly distributed CD-ROM and the NACS NHSnet website.

The GMP code is an eight character alphanumeric code, see NHS Administrative Codes - Practitioner Codes, PERSON IDENTIFIER and PERSON IDENTIFIER TYPE. 

When a locum refers, use the code of the GP for whom the locum is acting. See PERSON IDENTIFIER TYPE classification 'Code of General Practitioner - PPA Code'. 

For GPs working in hospitals, the following codes should be used:

-	if the GP is working as an assistant, use the code of the responsible consultant;
-	if the GP is working as a consultant, use the GP's GMC code.

Whilst both MOD and prison doctors provide general medical services to their communities, they are not GMPs and should not be recorded as Registered GMPs. They can refer (Referrer code).

For the NACS contact details, see Publication Information Contact Details. For the NACS contact details, see Contact Details.

 

This data element is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	GMP (CODE OF REGISTERED OR REFERRING GMPS)

Format/length:	an5
HES item:	PROCODE
National Codes:
Default Codes:
	89997 - UK provider where no organisation code has been issued
	89999 - Non-NHS UK provider where no organisation code has been issued

Notes:
This is the ORGANISATION CODE of the ORGANISATION acting as a HEALTH CARE PROVIDER. This should always be the ORGANISATION CODE of the provider receiving the Payment by Results tariff income for the Commissioning Data Sets.

Where NHS patient care is sub-commissioned to independent or overseas providers, the NHS SERVICE AGREEMENT should specify that the non-NHS provider has requested an identifying organisation code from the Organisation Codes Service. Where NHS patient care is sub-commissioned to independent or overseas providers, the NHS SERVICE AGREEMENT should specify that the non-NHS provider has requested an identifying organisation code from the National Administrative Codes Service (NACS).

See NHS Administrative Codes for a description of ORGANISATION CODES.

  For the NACS contact details, see Contact Details.
 

This data element is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	ORGANISATION CODES (CODE OF PROVIDER)

Format/length:	an5
HES item:	PCTR
National Codes:
Default Codes:

Notes:
The transition from the 3 character HA OF RESIDENCE to the 5 character ORGANISATION CODE (PCT OF RESIDENCE) is necessary to support wider data set development. However, for the purposes of sending Commissioning Data Set (CDS) messages to the NHS-Wide Clearing Service (regardless of how local systems hold the data) it is essential at present to continue using a 3 character field, using the first 3 characters of the ORGANISATION CODE (PCT OF RESIDENCE) and following the same update rules relating to Prime Recipient as are currently in place. This is necessary primarily to preserve the integrity of the current NHS CDS message and the Prime Recipient which is derived from the ORGANISATION CODE (PCT OF RESIDENCE).

Default Code: X98 to be used where PCTR not applicable until further notice.

The National Administrative Codes Service (NACS) provides postcode files which link postcodes to the PRIMARY CARE TRUST. See NHS Postcode Directory.

For the NACS contact details, see Publication Information Contact Details. For the NACS contact details, see Contact Details.

 

This data element is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	ORGANISATION CODES (PCT OF RESIDENCE)

Format/length:
HES item:
National Codes:
Default Codes:

Notes:
See PRIMARY CARE TRUST (PCT) for the definitions of this ORGANISATION.

Patients not registered with a GP but resident in the geographical area covered by a PRIMARY CARE TRUST are the responsibility of that PRIMARY CARE TRUST. The National Administrative Codes Service (NACS) provides postcode files which link postcodes to PCT OF RESIDENCES. See NHS Postcode Directory.

For the NACS contact details, see Publication Information Contact Details. For the NACS contact details, see Contact Details.

 

This data element is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	PCT OF RESIDENCES

1. Responsible Agencies:

National Administrative Codes Service (NACS):

NACS is responsible for allocating codes to the following organisations in England and Wales:
Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs)
NHS Trusts
Primary Care Trusts (PCTs)
Care Trusts (CTs)
Special Health Authorities (SpHAs)
Independent Providers (registered and non-registered nursing and residential homes, private hospitals etc.)
Pathology Laboratories
Cancer Registries
Other NHS Administration Units


Code allocation by other agencies

Several other UK agencies are responsible for issuing or publishing codes (to NHS standards) to the following healthcare organisations and maintaining their details. These details are made available on the NACS NHSnet website and on a quarterly CD-ROM, distributed by the NACS.

Prescription Pricing Authority (PPA):
General Medical Practitioners in England, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and Wales
GP Practices in England and Wales


Dental Practice Board (DPB):
General Dental Practitioners in England and Wales
GD Practices in England and Wales


Health Solutions Wales (HSW):
All secondary care organisations in Wales

NHS in Scotland:
All healthcare organisations and practitioners in Scotland

DHSSPS, N.Ireland:
All healthcare organisations and practitioners in Northern Ireland

Office for National Statistics:
Responsible for the formal definition of the geographical area covered by each Primary Care Trust (England), in terms of their component postcodes.

Source: Agencies responsible for allocation of codes on the NACS NHSnet site. For those without NHSnet access, visit the NACs www website for further information NACS or see Publication Information Contact Details. For those without NHSnet access, visit the NACs www website for further information NACS or see Contact Details.

2. Administrative codes are used to identify:

-Individual healthcare organisations including independent providers;
-Dental and Medical Practices;
-Practitioners, such as GPs, Dental Practitioners and Hospital Consultants.

3. The codes allow for:

-the identification of information returned to the Department of Health;
-the identification of the ORGANISATIONS involved in the electronic exchange of information within the NHS;
-the identification of the parties involved in the commissioning and administration of an episode of care.

4. The current coding standards were introduced in 1996 by the Organisation Codes Service (OCS), now the National Administrative Codes Service (NACS). Subsequent revisions to the structure and format of organisation codes have given these codes a consistent and stable format. This both reflects the organisational changes in the NHS and protects the codes against future changes to the structure of the NHS.

5. Codes used in England and Wales to identify organisations in Scotland and Northern Ireland are allocated by agencies working on behalf of the Scottish Office and Northern Ireland Office. These codes meet NHS coding standards and are included on the NACS CD-ROM, issued quarterly to NHS users. Note, however, that different codes may be used locally e.g. in Scotland by Scottish users.

6. For NHS Trust sites and Primary Care Trust sites, a three character NHS Trust code with a suitable two character suffix is used to compose the site's identification code. For independent sector organisations, where more than three characters are used, the first three characters have no significance.

7. For CDSs, both the Commissioner and the Provider must be identified by a five character code. If either the Commissioner or the Provider is normally identified by a three character code, then its organisation code may be extended to five characters by the addition of a two zero suffix (00) to create a suitable code, such as RGT00 for a Trust. This should only be used in situations where there is no other 5-character code that can be used.

8. Only those organisations, with their sub-divisions or sites that are registered within the responsible agencies national list of organisations may be used for commissioning purposes or for routing commissioning data sets (CDSs) over NWCS (ClearNet). NHS and Independent Sector providers which operate Treatment Centres must be able to differentiate each Treatment Centre by the Organisation Site Code. NHS or Independent Sector organisations that wish to include one or more of their sub-divisions or sites on the national register should contact the NACS Help Desk. For the NACS contact details, see Publication Information Contact Details.

8. Only those organisations, with their sub-divisions or sites that are registered within the responsible agencies national list of organisations may be used for commissioning purposes or for routing commissioning data sets (CDSs) over NWCS (ClearNet). NHS and Independent Sector providers which operate Treatment Centres must be able to differentiate each Treatment Centre by the Organisation Site Code. NHS or Independent Sector organisations that wish to include one or more of their sub-divisions or sites on the national register should contact the NACS Help Desk. For the NACS contact details, see Contact Details.

9. Where treatment for a NHS patient is sub-commissioned to a non-NHS UK provider healthcare organisation (independent provider) but that non-NHS UK provider does not have an organisation code or sites registered with a responsible agency, the default value of 89999 should be used.

MEDICAL AND DENTAL PRACTICE CODES
NHS ADMINISTRATIVE CODES
NHS ORGANISATION CODES
PRACTITIONER CODES

MEDICAL AND DENTAL PRACTICE CODES

METADATA FILES

1. Metadata files are used by the NHS to validate data. The files facilitate data consistency and quality. The files are:
   
   
   • Diagnosis (ICD-10)
   
   
   • Operation (OPCS-4) Fourth Revision Consolidated Version
   
   
   • NHS Postcode Directory
   
   
   • Frozen Postcode Directory
   
   
   • Country Pseudo Postcodes.

2. The ICD-10 file is issued by the NHS Information Authority, from whom a specification is available. It is intended to reissue this file in line with the ICD-10 updates.

3. The Operation metadata file is also issued by the NHS Connecting for Health on request. No update of this file is currently envisaged.

3. The Operation metadata file is also issued by the NHS Information Authority on request. No update of this file is currently envisaged.

4. The NHS Postcode Directory (''Gridlink" version) is maintained, on behalf of the Department of Health, by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The full NHS Postcode Directory on CD-ROM and via the NHSnet is provided free to the NHS, every quarter, by the National Administrative Codes Service (NACS). A reduced version of the full NHS Postcode Directory, containing Postcode, Strategic Health Authority Code and Primary Care Trust/Care Trust Code, is provided every quarter on CD-ROM and via NHSnet as part of the standard National Administrative Codes Service (NACS) data issue; see Publication Information Contact Details.

4. The NHS Postcode Directory (''Gridlink" version) is maintained, on behalf of the Department of Health, by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The full NHS Postcode Directory on CD-ROM and via the NHSnet is provided free to the NHS, every quarter, by the National Administrative Codes Service (NACS). A reduced version of the full NHS Postcode Directory, containing Postcode, Strategic Health Authority Code and Primary Care Trust/Care Trust Code, is provided every quarter on CD-ROM and via NHSnet as part of the standard National Administrative Codes Service (NACS) data issue; see Contact Details.

5. A version of the Central Postcode Directory (CPD), the 91-based Frozen Postcode Directory, is produced by the ONS to provide a stable base to facilitate time source analysis. Full details are set out in the CPD User Guide available from ONS; see Publication Information Contact Details.

5. A version of the Central Postcode Directory (CPD), the 91-based Frozen Postcode Directory, is produced by the ONS to provide a stable base to facilitate time source analysis. Full details are set out in the CPD User Guide available from ONS; see Contact Details.

6. Any area within the NHS taking advantage of the supply of metadata by ONS will be expected to abide by any rules and conditions imposed by the ONS Section supplying the metadata.

Media

7. NHS Connecting for Health Metadata files are normally supplied on disk. Potential users should contact the NHS Connecting for Health Coding and Classification Help Desk on 0121 333 0420 (direct line).

7. NHS Information Authority Metadata files are normally supplied on disk. Potential users should contact the NHS Information Authority Coding and Classification Help Desk on 0121 333 0420 (direct line).

Format of Metadata Files

8. The following pages give the record layouts and data content for the Operation and Country Pseudo Postcode metadata files.

Operation File Data Content

9. This file consists of about 7,000 records, one record for each operation (OPCS-4) Fourth Revision Consolidated Version used in the HES processing system. The records are in operation code order. Each record also contains editing parameters used in validation.

OPERATION FILE RECORD LAYOUT

              

Start Position	Size	Occurs	Field Description
1	11		selection indicators
12	1		operation prefix
13	4		operation code
17	8		filler
25	55		operation name (3 digit)
80	5		filler
85	60		operation name (4 digit)
145	43		filler
188	1		sex (absolute)
189	3		filler
192	1		sex (scrutiny)
193	1		filler
194	2		status of operation
196	23		filler
219	1	10	method of delivery
229	24		filler

OPERATION FILE FIELD CONTENTS

Field	Content
Operation Prefix	space
Operation Code	4 chars, 1 alphanumeric + 3 numeric
Sex (absolute)	space = accept any sex code 1 = males not accepted 2 = females not accepted
	1 = males not accepted
	2 = females not accepted
Sex (scrutiny)	space = accept any sex code
	1 = males not accepted
	2 = females not accepted
NB The following relate to primary operation only
Status of Operation	if status not = 01, reject for scrutiny
Method of Delivery	10 one character codes representing the DELMETH code values 0 - 9. Check character position corresponding to DELMETH code value space = no check required 1 = reject for scrutiny

Country Pseudo Postcode File Data Content

10. This file contains about 130 records. The usual country of residence for short term overseas visitors is derived from the country pseudo postcode, these can be found by browsing the: NACS NHSnet website. The codes are also available in electronic format on the NHS Postcode Directory ("Gridlink" version).

For the NACS contact details, see Publication Information Contact Details. For the NACS contact details, see Contact Details.

11. The expanded area code field contains the country of birth code in characters 1-4 (a repeat of the characters 3-6 in the pseudo postcode). The remainder of the expanded area code is blank except for codes 993C (UK nos) and 993V (no fixed abode) where characters 5-7 are 9space9.

COUNTRY PSEUDO FILE RECORD LAYOUT

Start Pos	Size	Data Type	Field Description
1	11	X	selection indicators
12	6	X	6 digit postcode (POSTSIX)
18	1	A	7th digit
19	6	X	filler
25	50	X	name of country
75	5	X	filler
80	19	X	area details
99	154	X	filler

ORGANISATION CODING FRAMES

1. All NHS organisations (with the exception of GP Practices - see Medical & Dental Practice Codes) are coded using one of two five character coding frames; the A frame or the B frame as shown in the table:

  

Char Position	1	2	3	4	5
Format	a/n	a/n	a/n	a/n	a/n
A Frame	Organisation Type Indicator	Organisation Identifier
B Frame	Organisation Type Indicator	Organisation Identifier		Site or Sub-Division Identifier

2. The A Frame applies to ORGANISATION TYPES with a high volume of ORGANISATIONS and with no requirements to identify sites or sub-divisions within the ORGANISATION. The ORGANISATION CODE is normally a full five characters in length.

Examples: Strategic Health Authority

3. The B Frame applies to ORGANISATION TYPES with a low volume of ORGANISATIONS or ORGANISATION TYPES needing to identify sites or sub-divisions within the ORGANISATION. The ORGANISATION CODE is normally three characters in length; the fourth and fifth character positions are used for identifying sites or sub-divisions.

Examples: NHS Trusts, Primary Care Trusts

4. Both coding frames allow the use of digits 0 (zero) to 9 and the use of all upper-case alpha characters except B, I, O, S, U and Z (to avoid ambiguity); no special characters are allowed. These alphanumeric characters may be used in all character positions with the following restrictions:

   • the first character position may only contain one of a series of pre-set values which indicate the ORGANISATION TYPE;

   • within the B Frame, a two zero suffix (00) can be used to extend a three-character Commissioner or Provider ORGANISATION CODE. This should only be used in situations such as in the CDS, where a 5 character code is required and no other 5-character code can be used. For this reason, a Site Identifier should never be coded as 00.

5. The structure and format of organisation codes maintained by the National Administrative Codes Service (NACS), Prescription Pricing Authority (PPA) and other agencies, are detailed in the NHS ORGANISATION CODES TABLES section of this publication. For further information, see Administrative Codes & Classifications.

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NHS Data Model and Dictionary Service